(CNN) - The female Democratic candidate who hopes to topple Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is out with a new television ad hitting him where Democrats think he is highly vulnerable - with women voters.

The ad is the latest in a series in which Alison Grimes uses real voters to pose questions for McConnell. In this ad, Kentucky resident Illene Woods asks why he voted "two times against the Violence Against Women Act. … and against enforcing equal pay for women?”

Washington (CNN) – Struggling to come up with enough votes to pass a funding bill to address the southern border crisis, House Republican leaders further scaled-back their proposal on Tuesday, unveiling a $659 million measure aimed at bringing conservatives on board.

While Speaker John Boehner told reporters that he believed "there is sufficient support" for the bill, he also admitted he had "a little more work to do."

CNN’s POLITICAL GUT CHECK | for July 29, 2014 | 5 p.m.
— n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

OBAMA: NOT A NEW COLD WAR …Stepped-up sanctions against Russia are not part of a new Cold War, President Barack Obama said. "What it is, is a very specific issue related to Russia's unwillingness to recognize that Ukraine can chart its own path," Obama said. New U.S. sanctions announced by Obama will target three Moscow-based banks. – Laura Smith-Spark and Nick Paton WalshFULL POST

Washington (CNN) - A possible move by Obama administration to single-handedly act on immigration reform before November's midterm elections could have major political consequences.

The White House could by the end of the summer use executive action to grant work permits to possibly millions of undocumented immigrants, multiple sources confirm to CNN. Such a move would legally allow such undocumented immigrants to stay in the U.S.

Washington (CNN) - Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus Tuesday joined half dozen House Republican lawmakers at a rally outside the Senate steps to call on the American people to "fire" Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) by winning control of the Senate in 2014.

Speaking to a crowd of around 100 GOP staffers and supporters (and a handful of curious tourists), Priebus said, "For too long now, Sen. Reid has run the Senate with an iron fist, blocking legislation that would help working families."

(CNN) - Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam expressed frustration with the Obama administration’s decision to place 760 unaccompanied minors in his state without notification.

In a letter addressed to President Barack Obama dated July 25, Haslam said it was “unacceptable” that the state discovered the presence of the unaccompanied minors through an online posting by the Department of Health and Human Services.

A spokesman for Haslam said Tuesday the governor has not been notified by the administration. HHS said it would review the letter and respond to the governor as soon as possible.